‘Babar Azam is no Virat Kohli, but …’: Former Pakistan captain defends under-fire star batter

Virat Kohli and Babar Azam in Dubai. (ANI Photo)

Pakistan’s disastrous ICC Champions Trophy marketing campaign resulted in disappointment, with the hosts failing to register a single win. Their ultimate group-stage recreation towards Bangladesh in Rawalpindi was washed out, they usually completed final within the Group A standings. A heavy defeat to arch-rivals India solely deepened the injuries, elevating critical issues in regards to the crew’s future.
Among these dealing with the brunt of the criticism is former captain Babar Azam, whose underwhelming performances towards New Zealand and India have made him a major goal for scrutiny.
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However, a video of former Pakistan captain Salman Butt defending Babar went viral on the social media platforms, urging followers to again him regardless of his present struggles.

In the video, Butt, talking on GNN HD News, highlighted Babar’s profession statistics to counter his critics.
“His Test average with 9 centuries and 29 fifties is 42.77. One-day average is 55.50 with 19 centuries and 35 half-centuries. In T20Is he has an average of 39.83, strike-rate of 129. Someone tell me if these stats have been beaten by any single player in Pakistan in the last 20 years,” Butt acknowledged.
With Pakistan’s cricketing struggles laid naked, significantly in distinction to India’s well-oiled machine, Butt dismissed unfair comparisons and referred to as for sensible expectations.
“Talk sense. You don’t have a Kohli or a Williamson. Babar is no Kohli. But Babar is the best that we have,” he pressured. “If he’s not scoring runs, he needs back-up now. When he’s scoring, even if you don’t like him, you will have to sing his praises with the world.”

Babar managed simply 23 runs towards India earlier than a rash drive off Hardik Pandya ended his innings. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli‘s match-winning century additional widened the perceived hole between the 2 cricketing powerhouses. However, Butt argued that Babar’s struggles are additionally because of the lack of a robust supporting forged.
“This dip in form, even Kohli had it. But Kohli is such a high-class player that he kept scoring 50s in those matches,” Butt defined. “Who did he have with him? Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni. Big gamers, match-winners. Who does Babar have?”
Pakistan now face an unsure future following their dismal exhibiting in a house ICC occasion, with main questions looming over the crew’s management and construction.